The Revitalization of Food Restaurants and Establishments to Stabilize Holistically program or Re-FRESH is an effort to support brick and mortar micro businesses negatively effected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Donor Name: City of Boston
State: Massachusetts
City: Boston
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 12/15/2023
Size of the Grant: $10,000 to $100,000
Grant Duration: Grant Duration Not Mentioned
Details:
The goal is to create stability amongst small food businesses, restaurants, taverns, and bars. Over the course of 8 months, business owners will create a plan to reactivate their business, creating goals to recover from setbacks. The office will provide wrap-around support services through the strong technical assistance partners. Services include:
- Working one-on-one with a business coach,
- offering support and advice
- creating comprehensive marketing plans
- and more.
Funding Information
Business may receive up to $15,000. Small Business Development may award full funding, partial funding, or no funding.
Eligibility Criteria
Eligible businesses include food businesses, restaurants, bars, taverns, and juice shops. Businesses that are located in low-to-moderate-income communities will be prioritized.
In addition, businesses must meet the following criteria to be eligible to apply:
- The business must employ 25 or fewer individuals, including the business owner.
- The business must earn no more than $2 million in annual revenue.
- The business must have faced an economic hardship directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. This could include, but is not limited to:
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- If the small business was impacted by declines in revenues or business closures due to the pandemic.
- If the small business faced greater difficulty accessing credit than prior to the pandemic.
- If the small business faced increased costs to starting the business due to the pandemic.
- If the small business had lost expected startup capital due to the pandemic.
- The business must have a commercial or mobile space in the City of Boston (home-based businesses are not eligible for this program).
- If deemed necessary by program, the business must complete the Re-FRESH Program trainings.
- Business must be in Good Standing with the City of Boston with no back taxes owed on property, personal property, or motor excise.
- Signed commitment letter and grant agreement to participate fully in the program if accepted.
Application Requirements
Businesses must submit a complete application which will include the following:
- Valid certificate of occupancy (as appropriate)
- Valid business certificate from the City of Boston OR your 2022 or 2023 annual report for your Massachusetts state-registered corporation
- Budget template provided in application
- Letter of community support from a neighborhood or community group (OPTIONAL)
- Copy of 2022 IRS filing for business tax
- Valid Supplier ID
- Completed program application
For more information, visit City of Boston.
